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I haven’t written about NBC’s Thursday night line-up this year, but only out of laziness. I think it goes without saying that 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, and, of course, The Office have been a consistent string of shows for the past few months, even the past year. Last night’s episodes of 30 Rock and The Office stood out to me in that they both tried to do the same thing – use a behind-the-scenes, real life event as a plot device – but only one show succeeded.

30 Rock‘s big milestone was their 100th episode, a day I’m sure many executives at NBC never saw coming. They celebrated with a one-hour special written by Tina Fey. Rather than choose between airing a clip show or writing new material, Fey did both, and the result was a disappointment. Ryan McGee at The A.V. Club admits he “was fairly burned out on meta-nostalgia by the end of 30 Rock’s hour-long episode,” and I have to agree. Flashbacks are one thing, but you can’t expect your audience to tag along for an hour’s worth of fairly lengthly clip sequences for every major character.

The episode centres on the 100th episode of TGS, which would have made for an eventful enough episode, and would have provided more than enough “meta-nostalgia” without all the tiresome clips. An awkward plot involving a gas leak does reach a reasonable conclusion, but it just feels like too much work. It’s kind of like watching kids put on a play: I’m sure they had a lot of fun making it, but don’t they realize how tedious it is for the adults? (Ed. note: I am not an adult. Just to be clear.) Read more…

In a 9-5 office setting, the little moments throughout the day keep you going. That’s what The Office picks up on so keenly, and what makes it a show that’s still worth watching. Usually when the writers get too ambitious with storylines – like the Michael Scott Paper Company subplot in the fifth season – it starts to feel a little too contrived. Luckily so far this season, they’ve returned to the everyday mundanities that we just can’t help laughing at.

First, my personal favourite moment of the episode: when Jim and Pam go to check out Dwight’s new enterprise, a daycare centre in the Dunder Mifflin business park. The scene was decent, but the decoration Dwight chooses for the children – an Insane Clown Posse poster with the words “Insane” and “Posse” scratched out – was priceless. It doesn’t get much better than that. Read more…

As we come to the end of The Office as we know it – that is, the end of Steve Carell – we have to hold on to these precious moments as they pass. Thankfully, the writers of season seven’s premiere had the same attitude, because this was the best season opener of an established TV show that I’ve seen in a long time, maybe ever.

There was a while there in the fifth season when it looked like our most trusted, reliable source for easy laughs was fast depleting. What makes The Office such a success is its mass appeal: just take a look at the list of countries that have made their own version of the UK original. The show has somehow managed to combine college gags with a kind of safe, almost broad humour that appeals to my mom as much as my friends. Last night’s episode was a perfect example of the combination. Read more…